Smash Flash Chronicles, Act 4: The Aftermath
by Battalion Ice
Summary: The Great Fox Tournament ends in tragedy when a most-revered hero is lost. Tails rallies the rest of the Smash Flash characters against the newest and most dangerous unlockable character. Some will be lost and some turned in the epic story based on the popular online game.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

**Super Smash Flash 2 is based on the popular fighting franchise by Nintendo and is currently going through its beta stages. This story, which is based on version 0.8, takes the characters, unlockable and otherwise, and the stages as they are to form the map of the imaginary world of Smash Flash. Each update twists the story drastically. Despite the title, this is the very first chapter in the series.**

**On the Namekian stage, Tails the fox informs Son Goku of what has recently transpired.**

"Life is not a game. At least that's probably what most are told. The intended metaphor being that you don't get extra lives in life. You of all people could sense the invalidity of that statement. In a sense, we were all given new life when we were brought here to be together. It was never intended that there be a power vacuum. I suppose what happened was unforeseeable and yet inevitable. For now us, those that seek vengeance, combat those that seek power. The line between good and evil becomes blurred after while. After countless times of conflict, we were granted the new chance we needed at peace. It was not us who took that chance for granted. Rather, the reawakening of chaos was spurred by the fox whose name is so, and a dangerous street racer who goes by the name of Douglas. Though we can still walk from stage to stage. It is never safe to do so. The power balance is gone. So many of our former friends now serve Douglas, with the utmost loyalty. Though we outnumber them, I am ashamed to admit that we are outmatched. Quality will always stand where quantity falls. But you are quality. You are the needle in the haystack. You are the wolf among us foxes. The man amongst boys. Our only chance."

"And what about your hero? He's beaten me in battle time after time. Why not call upon him? Exactly how much did I miss?"

"When Fox came here he hosted a The Great Fox tournament that we all competed in. Didn't you fight Wario in the tournament?"

"Yeah."

"You were rendered unconscious and thought dead for a very long time. They knew you would be a troublesome foe for them so they made sure to disable you until their goal could be achieved. Their mistake was not killing you."

"Get to the point. Why are you telling me all this rather than answering my question? Am I supposed to save a world that's filled with heroes?"

"You know just as well as I do that not all heroes are created equal. Now in our hour of need that is most true. We can make a stand but not without you. Your absence heavily impacted the outcome of the Battle of Konoha. A great man is dead because of your absence. You are not to be a savior, but an ally, a valuable one!"

"Konoha?"

"Wario took the fall in the next match, which was against his new ally, Fox Mcloud. Fox would later progress to the final match of the tournament, in Sector Z versus Mario, atop the Great Fox space vessel. Though it was a long, and surely a grueling and painful match, Mario eventually emerged victorious."

"As always."

"As promised, Mario was taken to his 'prize'. Fox took Mario inside the Great Fox space vessel. There they flew into a wormhole. Mario was surprised to see his nemesis, Wario, in the new stage they had entered, The Sand Ocean desert, atop the racing vehicle of Captain Douglas Jay Falcon. Deceived, and weary from battle, Mario began to attack his foe, but was betrayed by Fox. Together, they overwhelmed Mario before the race cruiser increased speed and flew out of the wormhole at light speed. It soon crashed in the nexus next to Konoha. Wario escaped to Hueco Mundo, where he fought and mortally wounded Ichigo, but not before disclosing the deal made between him and Fox. Fox escaped to Chaos Shrine, where he recruited Black Mage for his cause. In the end, it was only Mario who stood alone against Douglas Jay Falcon, F-Zero Pilot, in the village hidden in the leaves. Mario fought as best he could against the pilot. But Captain Falcon's combination of speed and strength is unmatched, especially by a worn out fighter.

On Mario's first missed attack, Douglas floored him with a knee to the torso.

As Mario attempted to gain his bearings Falcon executed the hero with the attack in his arsenal that was not a combination of speed **and** power, only power. The Falcon Punch.

Son Goku, Mario of the Mushroom Kingdom is dead.

We have all since set up operations at Hyrule Temple. We will plan our attack from there. Falcon's combination of power and speed is second to none. But you are second. That is why we need you. Sonic and I could barely keep up with him when he invaded us in the sky temple. I myself was knocked unconscious during the fight. When I awakened, the two foes stood and stared at each other, no longer fighting. Falcon stood tall and strong, while Sonic stood weakly, his left arm hanging in disability. I could see the look of defeat in his eyes. Losing in the first round of the tournament really hit his ego. Whatever Falcon did to Sonic, it broke what little will he had to fight. I've trouble getting him to go to action with me since. If he is not to aid us in our fight then he may as well be dead. In this sense Falcon has killed three of us and his men's loyalty to him increases with each life he takes. The day Falcon defeated Sonic and I, Sonic fled from battle and left me. The pilot could have killed me then, when I was lying there, disabled."

"Why didn't he?"

"Are you saying you would have preferred such a thing?"

"He left you alive for a good reason, what was it?"

"He told me of the Battle of Konoha. He wanted me to tell everyone else of it."

"Why?"

"I fear to even try to understand his mind. My guess is that he'd left no witnesses when he murdered Mario, and wanted everyone to know that he'd killed our icon."

The saiyan raised his fist to chest level, aura visibly flowing around it. "I'll obliterate him. There won't even be an ash left to the wind. Take me to him."

"I won't. It would be suicide to approach him while his men are around."

"Then what do we do?"

"Falcon often sends his men out on 'search and destroy' missions."

"Search and destroy what?"

"Us. I will send Link and Lloyd as decoys. The enemy doesn't know that we've setup at Hyrule. Whoever finds either of them will follow them back to us. At that point we will know that at least some of his men have left his right hand. That is when we will strike."

"We?"

"Fox McCloud seldom leaves Falcons side. You'll kill no one so long as he serves as their bodyguard. If Fox McCloud is there, it is safer that I go with you."

"What, because you're a fox? Is it a territorial thing? There can be only one or some shit like that? What if we're still outnumbered?"

"Naruto's shadow-clone jutsu will prove its worth."

"Naruto's coming with us?"

"Yes. Goku, I should tell you, there is no guarantee that all of us will come out alive. I don't want anyone to die. I'm simply trying to restore order."

"What gives you the right to do so?"

"My best friend is mentally damaged to the point that he is no longer useful in battle. And perhaps no longer my friend. Also, I wish to go on living. Don't you?"

"If Falcon sends his men on 'search and destroy' missions, we should go to Hyrule now before we're discovered."

"Follow me."

The path to Hyrule Temple included both Konoha and Hueco Mundo, the former first. Though not the greatest at typical conversation, Tails tried anyway as they walked through Konoha.

"You ever read?"

"What?"

"Read. Reading. You know, like books, history, any sort of print whatsoever."

"I've never been that kind of guy, no. I'm a man of action. Why do you ask?"

"President Andrew Jackson was a strong advocate for Indian Removal. After a string of political processes, the Choctaw, and many tribes thereafter were removed and forced to walk what one chief described to the grateful media as a 'trail of tears and death'. Many of those removed didn't survive the trip. Hence the name. The metaphor isn't exact, but I feel like this is a trail of tears. This was the dying place of Mario, and that of Ichigo lies just ahead. Falcon and Fox are two of the greatest fighters I've witnessed."

"You never witnessed Fox. From what you described, none of us did, except those who fought him in the Great Fox Tournament. And they all ended up joining him, except Mario of course. And Fox even lost to Mario. How do you know he's so great?"

"Just trust me. Fox is a league above most. It's no wonder Mario was so weak after defeating him. It's really a testament to how great a fighter he was. The combined power of Fox and Falcon is nearly unstoppable. I know that they are not above winning at all costs. Through it all, I feel certain that there will be more bloodshed, a trail of tears and death."

"You don't sound so optimistic."

"There's no room for it. I'm just trying to make sure you're prepared to face not just anything, but everything. It will happen."


	2. Chapter 2: Tears and Death

**Author's Note:**

**Super Smash Flash 2 is based on the popular fighting franchise by Nintendo and is currently going through its beta stages. This story, which is based in version 0.8, takes the characters, unlockable and otherwise, and the stages as they are laid out on screen to form the map of the imaginary world of Smash Flash. Each update twists the story drastically. Despite the title, this is the very first story of the series.**

**Tails the fox and Son Goku arrive at Hyrule, where their remaining allies are.**

"How is everyone doing?"

"Fine now that you're here, oh great all-knowing Tails."

"Your sarcasm comes off as ungratefulness Princess Toadstool. If you think you'd do a better job then, well you _are_ a princess. The gift of administration is in your genes, is it not?"

"Fuck off, Tails!"

"Now that I think about it, your presence here may threaten the rest of us. You do have a reputation as a damsel in distress. Only now you don't have-"

"I will rip the tails from your-"

"We're not solving anything by arguing!" Goku interrupted angrily "Tails, tell them about your plan."

"Right, we're going to become the hunters. As you know, Falcon's men constantly hunt us down and have nearly killed us on numerous occasions. That is why we must stay together. But to become the hunted, we must bait them. The moment that they take the bait, will be Falcon's weakest moment. If we take out Falcon, the alliance will fall. Link, Lloyd, the two of you will venture out into the stages. The moment you are targeted, you will rush back here. Once we see you here, Naruto, Goku and I will go and find Falcon. We shall not return unless we are successful in killing him."

"And what if you're not successful?"

"Don't doubt us Lloyd."

"Don't doubt you? What about the holes in this plan? What if Link and I don't make it back? What if you don't make it back from your trip? What if they find the princess and the other's while we're gone?"

"These are not holes, they are inevitable inconveniencies. You will split up when you venture out into the stages to double your chances. There will be enough people here to protect themselves against outside threat. And I have faith in Goku. But the look of doubt in your face still exists. If you've a better plan, then by all means, tell me." Lloyd fell silent, as did everyone else. "I didn't think so. Now go. We don't have much time before even this location is discovered. I have faith you'll be back in one piece." The two swordsmen left on their mission.

Douglas Jay Falcon missed the familiarity of the Sand Ocean desert stage. But the Flash manifestation of the Chaos Shrine, which served as Black Mage's resting place, seemed a much more fitting place for Falcon's throne. The chair from his F-Zero vehicle was taken and driven into the floor in the center of the shrine. Falcon did it himself and in front of his men, to demonstrate his strength. All those who followed him were astonished by his strength, except Fox McCloud, who had learned to expect such things. The act had left the room silent for several minutes, while Falcon held a smirk on his face. Finally, he said something to one of his men.

"Sora, you once fought Mario, didn't you?"

"I did."

"Were you successful?"

"What do you think?"

"You'll find it in your best interest to watch your tone with me. Was it not a fight to the death?" Sora raised his keyblade and stared at it intently.

"It was supposed to be a fight to the death. He could have killed me if he wanted to. Sometimes I wonder why he didn't."

"You enjoyed being evil when you were, didn't you?"

"It did have its perks. They all stopped what they were doing to pay attention to me. And I experienced what was perhaps the most thrilling fight of my life. He truly is a great fighter."

"_Was_ a great fighter. He's dead now. By my hand his fate has been sealed."

"Perhaps."

"Perhaps? Sora, do you mean to doubt my word?" the captain said with a smile.

"I have no doubt that you killed him, but had he not fought a full tournament before?" Falcon turned to the right of his new throne and looked at his right-hand man for an answer. Fox answered.

"That he did."

"And I assume you did not go easy on him." Sora said

"I didn't. I knew he was supposed to win the tournament, but it had to be a convincing fight. But even if I had defeated him, I would have taken him to Falcon anyway. It was the only way to get him out of the way for our ascension."

"That's what I'm saying," said Sora "win or lose, Mario would have met Falcon in a weakened state. It's no wonder you beat him so easily." Captain Falcon clutched his fist in anger.

"Are you questioning my strength? I wouldn't mind proving myself to you, personally." Fox was familiar with the pilot's temper. He knew it was best to intercede, for Sora's sake. They were already understaffed against the enemy.

"Captain, calm down. He's not that smart. He's just curious. He didn't mean any insult."

"Let's hope not." Falcon said as he began to relax back into his throne. "It's about time for them to recognize us for the threat we are. Wario, go out and see if you can't find anymore of the flies to swat. Sora, for your own safety, I suggest you accompany him."

"What am I not safe from?"

"Me! Now go."

"Why do we constantly have to go out looking for someone to murder?" Wario asked

"We won't have to do it much longer. We just have to let the enemy see its own blood on our hands. That is when they will be at their weakest." The captain stood and saluted, signaling the two onto their mission. "Am I a fraud, McCloud?" The captain's question shocked Fox.

"What do you mean, captain?"

"I think part of what Sora said may have been right. Though Mario was perhaps one of the greatest to ever grace this world, I didn't fight him when he was at his finest. I did it at his potential weakest. I feel as though my victory over him has lost much of its validity."

"Captain, even on his best day, he wouldn't have beaten you."

"You know that, and I know that. But the rest may doubt me. I feel incomplete now. I must remedy this feeling."

Both swordsmen were nervous as they wandered about the stages. The silence between them finally broke when they had gotten to the Waiting Room stage and Lloyd asked the question.

"Do you think we're going to die?" Link couldn't ignore the fact that he had been spoken to, but he could ignore the question with the right reply.

"Tails told us to split up, Lloyd."

"You know just as well as I do that if either of us are found alone, we are as good as dead! At least this way, one of us is sure to make it back to relay the message to the other's that the guard dogs have left their owner."

"We might never find them this way. You have to stop following me."

"He said there wasn't much time before we were all discovered anyway. What's the point? Besides, Falcon's men hunt in packs. We're just fighting fire with fire."

"That will leave us with ash! Impotent, useless, ash!"

"Oh believe me" said a voice, "the ash is looking down on you."

"Sora" shouted Lloyd "show yourself you traitor!"

"If you say so." Sora said as he dropped down in front of the swordsmen. The three stood for about a dozen seconds with their swords erect. Link finally lowered his weapon and approached Sora. Sora lowered his in kind. Confused, Lloyd asked:

"What are you doing?"

"Don't worry." Link replied "Sora, I fought Mario in The Great Fox Tournament and in many times before then. I lost to him in the first round. He beat me by a landslide that time. But he sensed when I'd had enough and ended the fight, despite Fox's insistence that he kill me. Like me, Mario has also spared your life in the past. Why betray us and ally yourself with the man who killed him?" Sora clinched his weapon hand and looked down. Link saw a single tear hit the ground beneath them. Sora replied with his head still hanging.

"He weakened me, permanently." Sora said with his weapon hand still clinched. "I can never return to the strength I had then. But I can level the playing field. I can weaken you. I can weaken you all." With a quick movement of the blade, Sora sliced Link's front torso open. Link cried out and exclaimed in agony as he fell to his knees:

"What have you done?"

"Link!" Lloyd cried.

Sora continued, head still facing the ground. "With the blood of my enemy on my hands, it is at it's weakest."

"You bastard!" Lloyd cried as he began to rush in on Sora. A heavy and deliberate weight came crashing down on Lloyd before he got within full striking distance of Sora, who was now staring at the downed Link. The wind momentarily knocked out of him, Lloyd heard an obnoxious laugh as the weight lifted itself from him. "W-huh, Wario?"

"In the flesh, baby." Wario grabbed Lloyd by the leg and tossed him into the air. Just as Lloyd began to descend, his back was met with Wario's corkscrew attack, his foe literally drilling into his spine. Lloyd hit the ground, nearly paralyzed with pain. He was losing consciousness. Just then, a bulky new figure leaped over him. Lloyd thought he was saved until the figure landed on his stomach, as if to finish what Wario had started. The weight was even greater than that of Wario. That was the last thought Lloyd had before he blacked out.

"Am I that unlikeable Goku?" Tails asked as he and Goku stood on the lowest platform of the Hyrule temple stage.

"What do you mean?"

"Everyone seems to give me nothing but negativity, despite my efforts to save us all."

"They're just upset that Mario's gone. Especially the princess. That's why she keeps snapping on you. You have to shake it off. You might not be as popular as Mario was, so it's probably hard for them to take orders from someone who served as Sonic's sidekick, you know?"

"But with so much rejection, I fear it may lead to a misstep in the plan, resulting in only more blood."

"If there's anything I've ever learned from being a hero, it's that things seldom go according to plan. But they always seem to work out."

"If there is anything my past has taught me, it's that things aren't always as they seem."

When Lloyd finally came to, his attackers were gone. He stood to his feet and stumbled over to Link, who was lying on his back.

"Link, buddy?" Link was unresponsive. When Lloyd got close enough, he could see the open wound in Link's neck, where Sora's keyblade had been. The blood was still slowly flowing from Link's neck and pooling where Sora's tears had been. As Lloyd looked at the puddle, his own tears fell in and mixed what was already there. It was as if sorrow and loss were mixing to form a single substance. Lloyd lifted his friend's still-dripping corpse from the ground and slowly carried it back to Hyrule. He couldn't fight back tears as he made the journey. These tears and Link's blood formed a trail behind them. A trail of tears and death.


	3. Chapter 3: Miles Prower

**Author's Note:**

**Super Smash Flash 2 is based on the popular fighting franchise by Nintendo and is currently going through its beta stages. This story, which is based on version 0.8, takes the characters, unlockable and otherwise, and the stages as they are to form the map of the imaginary world of Smash Flash. Each update twists the story drastically. Despite the title, this is the very first chapter in the series.**

**At Hyrule Temple, Tails questions Lloyd as to what led to Link's death.**

"Who did this?" Tails asked.

"You." Lloyd said under his breath.

"What did you just say?"

"You! You cooked up a half-baked plan and hung me and Link out to dry! And now. . ." Lloyd dropped Link's corpse to the ground in front of Tails. "And now my best friend is dead. Too bad for you, I'm still here!" Lloyd charged swords-first toward Tails.

"Fool." Tails said as he pulled out his electron cannon, firing a shot to Lloyd's torso just before the swordsmen reached him. The blast sent Lloyd soaring a dozen feet backwards, landing on his back hard. "It doesn't matter how many swords you bring, to a gun fight." The fox said as he re-concealed his weapon.

"You could have killed him!" Goku said with rage and concern.

"He'll be fine" Tails replied "so long as he rests for the time being. But you and I must go now."

"Don't forget about me!" Naruto said, stepping from the shadows where he had been meditating. "Let's go clean 'em out."

"You seem awfully optimistic about this, Naruto. You got plans or something?" Goku asked.

"Ichigo died in my arms." Naruto replied, proceeding to stare at the ground. His eyes became moist.

"What's ironic is that Mario didn't." Tails said. "Your home is Konoha, and yet when Mario faced Falcon, you weren't there."

"Are you saying this is **my **fault?" Naruto angrily asked.

"I'm not placing blame on anyone; I'm simply pointing out the irony." Tails explained.

"We **are **going to kill them. And after we do, you're next, Tails."

"But of course." Tails replied, not considering Naruto a real threat. "We must go now, since there is even a chance he is alone."

**Fox could see the fire forming in Falcon's fist. These were the only times he didn't intercede on behalf of those unlucky enough to incite the captain's rage. The only time he didn't try to reason with him. The captain turned back to look at Fox.**

"I should have hosted the tournament, not you."

"But we agreed that for you to be unlocked, there needed to be enough energy generated from the fighting, The Great Fox Tournament. It was the only way, captain."

"Yes but, I don't know, I just wish it wasn't."

"You upset captain?"

"What? No, why do you ask?"

"Your fist still flames."

"You're right. I need to get rid of this tension. Black Mage," he called "launch a flaming rock at me, full force, like you did earlier." Eyes lit, Black Mage raised a stone from the ground that grew in size as it ascended. It caught fire at its apex. Without holding back, Black Mage drove it toward the ground toward Falcon, as the captain had commanded. "Falcon. . . **PUNCH**!" The captain screamed as he shattered the rock, almost making it seem easy. This was part of the reason Black Mage had chosen to follow the captain. Here in the Chaos Shrine, his actions are so fitting.

"Watch out!" Fox shouted as he leaped over Black Mage and activated his reflector, blocking the electron blast that was intended for Black Mage.

"Ahhh!" Naruto couldn't hold back the scream as the blast hit him, unexpectedly.

"You know, for a ninja, that wasn't very elite of you." Fox teased.

"Visitors, excellent." said Falcon "Tails, I knew you would come to be the leader, but I did not expect such a bold move. I must say that I am most impressed. But I'm afraid you've come a long way just to die. After our last encounter, do you really think you've improved so much as to take me?" The pilot got into his fighting stance, raising and clinching his fist in excitement.

"He's not here for you captain" said Fox "are you, Prower?"

"You dare call me by that name?" Tails responded.

"We both know you're in no position to be upset."

"In these days, do we even need a reason?" The two foes gave an evil smile to each other. Tails took a step toward Fox. Fox leaped in the air and back flipped towards Falcon, landing next to him. He whispered to him:

"Captain, why don't I take this two-tailed freak off your hands, I know you and the wizard can manage here without us." The captain glanced down at Fox and gave an ignorant yet evil smirk.

"Very well" he said. "And if you see Sora and Wario, please inform them that they are past curfew."

"Yes sir." Fox said, activating his reflector, reflecting the electron blast originally headed for them. The captain gave a salute, and with that Fox fled to the nexus. Tails swiftly pursued, not caring what had been said between Fox and his captain, not even acknowledging the captain as he passed by him during his pursuit of Fox.

Black Mage slowly walked over where Fox was standing, next to Falcon, and took his fighting stance. A good twenty feet away, Goku and Naruto, the remaining opponents responded in kind.

"Ahhh, Goku" Falcon said "the pinnacle of anime, about to be killed by my hand. Oh what a day this is. And the ninja of Konoha, icing on the cake. Tell me, ninja. Have you been able to clean every ounce of Mario's blood from the grounds of your village? Or is it a set-in stain?"

"Don't let him knock you off-focus Naruto." Goku said. "Get ready."

"Gentleman," Falcon shouted "let us begin!"

**The Casino Night Zone seemed a weird stage for battle, but Tails didn't mind. He was bent on Fox's destruction. **

"Remember when we used to go to casinos, Prower?" Fox asked.

"I do" Tails answered "You'd scam at least 5 stations before we had to make a break for it."

"We both know there was no solo effort in those days. Those were good times, Prower. Why can't we just go back to those times?"

"Because things change. I don't do things like that anymore. I'm a different person now."

"Bullshit! People don't change, Prower. We both know that. You're still the same money-laundering, street-fighting, con-artist from so long ago. We both are. Prower, after you screwed me over and nearly got me killed, I too tried the side of good. But unlike you, I was the hero, not the sidekick. I served as what you might call an "on call enforcer for justice" for quite a while. I led other's who were on the side of good, but whose inferiority to me was clearly evident. In a way, I was just like you are now. Huh, we always were just alike." That sentence made Tails snap. He rushed at Fox, launching the hardest blows he could muster. Ducking to avoid Tails' last punch, Fox landed a vicious back flip kick to Tails' chin, sending the two-tailed fox skyward. Tails hit the bumper just above them and came crashing back down in front of his foe. "Come on now, you couldn't have gotten that much weaker. Where's my friend, huh?" Fox said as he held Tails down, pulled out his blaster and began whipping him with the butt of the gun. "Where's my friend?" he whipped the gun across Tails' face once more. "Where is he, Tails?" He pistol whipped him once more. "Where's Prower?" Another hard whip. "You're weak. I miss my friend." Tails flipped Fox off of him, staggering to his feet as fast as he could. "And slow too. I don't know how you ever kept up with Sonic." Fox landed a summersault kick before Tails could turn around to face him. Tails was sent rolling to the edge of the ledge.

"I did what I did because I wanted to feel useful, doing something good for a change." Tails said, as he pulled himself up from the ledge.

"What good are you doing if you've become weak to the point that you're doing no good at all? This 'Good Tails' is nothing compared to Prower." The foes charged at each other. Tails leaped into the air, propelling himself higher and higher to build up momentum. He was met with the Firefox as he reached his apex. He was set aflame until he landed. "I was like you after you first betrayed and abandoned me. Weakened by all the experience I had doing 'good'. I had to unleash the old relentless Fox McCloud to be great again. But maybe Prower really is dead. I guess I'm just too late to save him." Fox turned around and began walking away.

"I should have killed you when I had the chance." Tails said as he struggled to stand upright.

**The nexus to the west of the Battlefield leads to a dead end. This meant that Wario and Sora, neither of which had returned to Falcon since they left, were stuck between an angry Donkey Kong and a hard place.**

"We can't stay here forever, Wario." Said Sora

"Oh like fuck we can't. It won't be long before the pits of hell freeze over. Then it should be safe to go back to the Chaos Shrine."

"Who's wrath do you fear more, that of the captain's or that of some random ape?"

"Is there that great a difference?"

"I'm sure it's calmed down by now. As long as we take a detour around Jungle Hijinx, we should be fine."

"That ape has been going crazy ever since it lost to Fox in the Great Fox Tournament. It's great that he took out Lloyd, but it's a double-edged sword. First he kills Lloyd, then he turns on us."

"How do you know Lloyd's dead?"

"I'm optimistic. So are we gonna go or what?"

"Sure, but when we start, we can't stop running. Lest we risk him catching us."

**Hyrule was getting boring. Those not assigned to a job in the plan began to get restless.**

"At least I have you, Yoshi." said the princess. "I don't think the rest understand our pain." Yoshi couldn't talk, but he understood. "I just feel God awful right now. Can I tell you a secret Yoshi?" Yoshi closed his eyes as he began to listen.

The Hyrule Temple Stage had the size to allow everyone the privacy they desired. On the side opposite the princess, Sonic reflects alongside Lloyd.

"Am I weak, Lloyd?"

"Yes, Sonic. You're weak. We're both weak. We lost in the first round of The Great Fox Tournament. You lost to Pikachu. _Pikachu!_ But it's ok Sonic. Not everyone can be Mario."

"You know, I still think I could take you down. Is that what you want?"

"At least I lost to a formidable opponent. Look, if you're looking for a sympathetic ear who gives a shit, you're in the wrong place. I just got done carrying the corpse of my best friend and then proceeded to bury him. I think what you need is a good dose of truth. The truth is, you stopped being Mario's rival long before his death. He surpassed you long ago. The day you lost to him in the Twilight Town Tournament is the day he began to get stronger and you to plateau. And now you're wallowing in your own disgusting rut, without so much as apologizing to Tails for leaving him to die. So you know what? Yes, I do think you're weak. Maybe you should have died when you lost to Mario. Then you at least wouldn't be obsessing." Sonic curled into a ball, ready to attack. Lloyd crossed his swords in defense. Just then, Yoshi ran headfirst into Sonic, sending him skyward. "Well" Lloyd said as he dropped his guard "that happened." Yoshi ran up to Lloyd, screeching noises no one could quite understand. "I'm sorry, I'm sure it's important, but no one understands you."

"I thought I could trust you Yoshi!" screamed the princess as she hit the dinosaur over the head with her signature frying pan.

**Sora and Wario do their best to elude an angry ape on their way back to Chaos Shrine. They made their way through Wario Ware.**

"Shouldn't we have taken the path through Final Destination?" Sora questioned.

"Trust me; I know how to avoid angry apes better than you." Wario answered.

"It just seems like this is the _first_ place anyone would go if they were looking for someone named Wario."

"It doesn't think, it just goes on instinct. We should have a clear shot there now." They passed through the next Nexus and into the Temple of Time. There they found Princess Toadstool. "Your highness, to what do I owe this grace presence?" The princess' heart filled with fear when she saw the two enemies. She began to back up, slowly. "You don't have to be afraid of us darling. If you like I can flip my hat inside out and we can pretend I'm Mario. Heh heh heh."

"Got to hell!" the princess said as she turned around and began sprinting to the Eastern nexus in an effort to alert the others next door. Sora landed in front of her just before she could reach it. The spiky-haired foe gave an evil smirk as Wario walked up behind the princess. They had her surrounded.

"Sora, I can handle this. You had better go report to Falcon on our behalf."

"Whatever." And just like that the enemy left.

**Tails had Fox on the ropes. On Fox's next missed kick, Tails grabbed his leg and gave a hard chop. In horrible pain, Fox fell to the ground. Tails quickly took advantage and hopped onto his foe and began mercilessly punching him square in his face. Fox blood began to blend in with the red floor.**

"Is this close enough for you?" Tails asked, pulling out his electron cannon and aiming it directly at Fox's bloody face.

"Yes!" Fox replied. "It's good to see you again, friend." Fox said as he stared down the barrel of the gun.

**In the temple of time where Sora had left, the princess re-greeted the late Mario's nemesis with a sweet oral embrace. At least that's what the two lovers themselves would have called it.**

"I've missed you Wario."

"The feeling is mutual baby."

"Why can't I come with you?"

"You know it's not safe if you come with me baby. I don't think Falcon's the most chivalrous guy."

"I hate that no one thinks I can defend myself."

"It won't be much longer that we'll have to sneak around like this, I promise. Until then, stay out of trouble, okay?"

"Okay." The princess said as she allowed Wario to flee the scene.

**For the first time in a while, Goku regretted ever getting into a fight. Every inch of him was in pain. He watched as Black Mage took down clone after clone of Naruto's until Falcon finally found the real one with his knee, straight to the back of Naruto. Every clone disappeared into thin air. As soon as the ninja fell to the ground, both Black Mage and Falcon turned their attention to the downed Goku. Realizing it, he quickly stood to his feet, despite the roaring pain.**

"You think this is over?" Goku said as he placed both hands by his side. "It's not, not by a long shot!" Goku took a quick look down to focus. "KA-ME-HA-ME" Goku looked up to find that the pilot was still there, smiling, not even preparing to block the attack. He just stood there, smiling, alone. "He's alone?" Goku thought to himself as he began to panic in his head. Before he could launch the attack, he was grabbed from behind and a rock formation rose from the ground of the shrine fast, launching Goku into the wall behind him. He heard Black Mage laugh as footsteps began getting closer. Then he sensed something right in front of him. Still downed, sitting upright against the wall, he raised his head and opened his eyes. "Tails, you're back. I was getting worried, not about you of course. But as you can see, we're in a sticky situation here. I might be in over my head." Tails only stood silently, facing Goku's enemies. Goku noticed that Fox had also returned and was standing across the room among those enemies. "Tails, you didn't beat Fox? Tails?"

"I'm not Tails" the two-tailed fox said as he began to turn around, looking down at Goku, raising his electron cannon to the saiyan's head. "I'm Miles Prower."


	4. Chapter 4: Dynamic Duo

**Author's Note:**

**Super Smash Flash 2 is based on the popular fighting franchise by Nintendo and is currently going through its beta stages. This story, which is based on version 0.8, takes the characters, unlockable and otherwise, and the stages as they are to form the map of the imaginary world of Smash Flash. Each update twists the story drastically. Despite the title, this is the very first story in the series.**

**At Hyrule, Lloyd departs for Chaos Shrine, in defiance of Tails' wishes.**

"But don't you think he told us to stay here for a reason?" Megaman asked.

"Yes. But we're being absolutely unproductive here. Why not go?" Lloyd answered.

"But didn't you hear the way Tails' described him? He could kill us all!"

"All the more reason for me to help them. Are you going to accompany me?"

"I have a whole life ahead of me."

"Then I suggest you get clear so that I can go." Lloyd said in a threatening tone. Megaman stepped aside as Lloyd began to head to the Eastern nexus. Just as Lloyd began to take his next steps, Goku appeared before him and crumbled to the ground. "Whoa, I guess the plan didn't work out so well. Let's help him before any unwanted company gets here."

"D-Don't worry." Goku stuttered in pain, "They would have been here by now."

"What happened to you?" Lloyd asked

"Too strong. They're all too strong. And Tails. Tails!"

"They killed Tails?" Lloyd questioned.

"No."

"What about Naruto?"

"I-I don't know." The saiyan said, palming his forehead as he lay down. "I don't know."

"He'll be able to tell us when he's rested." Megaman said. "Let's just watch him for now."

**Captain Falcon had a special punishment in line for Wario for failing to come back at a suitable time.**

"How's your cardio, Wario?" the captain asked.

"What?"

"Are you in shape? Can you run well?"

"I run good enough?"

"Faster than me?"

"Probably not."

"Well in a minute you're going to wish you could."

"What?" Wario asked as the two fighters stopped walking.

"Do you know where this nexus will lead us?" the captain asked.

"Gangplank Galleon. Why do you ask?"

"Follow me and hop aboard." The captain said with a smile. The two went through the nexus west of Yoshi's Island and into Gangplank. Where does this boat take us, Wario?"

"To the ape?"

"Exactly. You said this "Donkey Kong" was the root of you problems during your mission."

"He was. That thing's gone mad. No one can control it. Not even itself."

"Now that's where you're wrong, my horizontally challenged soldier. Today, I'm going to show you how to tame a gorilla. But to do so, we must first capture a gorilla. To capture animals, you often need bait. That's where you finally become useful."

"What?" the boat was getting closer to Jungle Hijinx.

"You're going to enrage it with your very presence; I know if I were a wild animal, I certainly wouldn't want to see you. I can barely stand to look at you now. While he's distracted chasing you, I'm going to render it unconscious."

"That things way to big to knock out."

"I know this may be hard to comprehend for someone of your. . . condition, but size isn't everything. Trust me; I'll probably have him down before he ever lays a hand on you. Having an angry gorilla on our side is going to make things so much easier."

"How come Sora doesn't have to do this crap?"

"Because at least Sora managed to kill someone. Now then, our time has come!" The boat reached the end of the line.

**At Hyrule, Goku's head stopped ringing enough for him to explain what had happened.**

"We lost. That's the short version anyway. It was me and Naruto versus Douglas and Black Mage."

"What about Tails?" Megaman asked.

"He chased Fox out of the stage. After that, Naruto and I had our shot at Falcon. I went for the captain but, he's so much faster than I thought he would be. I thought Tails was exaggerating, but he wasn't. He flipped me over on my back hard and then, I think it was a kick, or a stomp. Either way, it had a flaming aura around it and it landed in the center of my stomach. I blacked out for a while from the pain. I think I remember trying to launch my Kamehameha wave, but I got pinned against the wall. Both Naruto and I were down at that point. Then Tails came back. But he, he turned the gun on me. Everyone in the room except Naruto was trying to kill me."

"How did you get out?"

"Wario and Sora came and landed behind Tails and distracted him. I used instant transmission to get out of there as soon as I had the chance."

"You left Naruto?" Lloyd asked. The saiyan simply looked down and said in a sobbing voice:

"I'm sorry."

**Wario ran for his life.**

"Waaaahhh!"

"Sit still so that I can get it!"

"Waaaaahaaa!"

"Almost got it!" Falcon said as he chased Donkey Kong who was chasing Wario. The gorilla had finally caught Wario and lifted him by the arms.

"Oooooo oh oh oo!" The monkey was furious. Just when it seemed as though Wario would be peeled like a banana, Falcon landed a rising knee to the back of the gorilla's head. DK dropped Wario and fell straight to the ground.

"Oh, I hope I didn't kill it. Come on Wario, we have a monkey to take care of."

**Tails was a do-gooder. Miles Prower enjoyed the suffering of others. Naruto found this out the hard way. In Twilight Town, Sora was assigned to watch Miles as he tortured Naruto. But truthfully, if things had gotten out of hand, would Sora have been able to do anything to stop Miles Prower?**

"Don't you think he's had enough?" Sora asked.

It took everything within Miles Prower not to turn his rage on Sora. After all, Sora had only known Tails. He hadn't gotten to know the real Miles Prower. He was just a fool.

"I can kill you, anytime." Prower said. He hoped that would be all he would have to say to warn Sora. Tails had been twisting and breaking different parts of Naruto's arm for nearly an hour. He would stop tormenting him for a few moments only to assure that Naruto didn't pass out from the pain. "Remember when you said I was next Naruto? Well Uzumaki? I'm waiting." Prower said as he raised his gun in the air. "Come and take the gun from me. I've been through a grueling battle with Fox McCloud; a barrage of fully charged shots should be more than enough to finish me. Come and take the gun. I know prior events have rendered you incapable of killing me with your hands. With your ninja athleticism, taking it shouldn't be a problem." Tired of hearing the fox's voice Naruto charged at him as fast as he could. Moving away from the gun's line of fire, Naruto grabbed Prower's arm with which he held the gun and snapped it out of place, broke it. He waited to hear a scream, but his hopes were crushed by a laugh. "Ahahahahah. You think pain deters me? Pain is but a sensation, hurtful only to the weak willed. I'm not an opponent you can just hurt!" Swinging his shoulder to move his arm, Prower clutched the trigger lightly and shoved the gun in Naruto's mouth. Experiencing a loss of hope, tears streamed down Naruto's face as he accepted what seemed to be fate. "Maybe I'll visit you in the afterlife."

"What?" Sora questioned as Prower pulled the trigger.

**Lloyd considered turning the blades on himself. If Falcon was as strong as he had heard, then their best chances at survival had already been killed.**

"What's wrong Lloyd?" the princess asked.

"Oh let's not do this again. I don't want to talk about it, okay?"

"Okay, but you should know, you're not the only one that's lost someone close to you."

"What, something bad happened to Wario?" Lloyd muttered under his breath.

"What did you just say?"

"Hmhmhmhmhm, hahahaha, aaahahahahaha!" Lloyd couldn't help laughing hysterically.

"But how?" Lloyd continued to laugh as he stood and walked away. "Yoshi, that stupid dinosaur. I'll kill it. I'll castrate him and then I'll kill it!"

**When the two-tailed fox had disposed of Naruto, Falcon had Prower take him to the Sky Sanctuary Zone, the place of their last battle.**

"So what exactly do you want, Falcon?"

"Don't play dumb with me. You know better than I do that this place is located just beneath Rainbow Route, this world's closest thing to heaven. I have no doubt that Mario is there. I've been informed that there is a way to resurrect those there, if only for the purpose of more battle. You know how to get him here. Tell me."

"Well it's not as simple as you may have heard. Even if resurrected, they would be restricted to this stage. They could not leave it. To get him down from the heavens, both he and you would have to want his living presence. Secondly, you must have the will that reaches beyond the grave."

"What the hell does that mean?"

"The will. Your desire to bring Mario here needn't be for just reason. It only needs to be strong. But for most, that is the problem."

"Miles, you will find that my will is the strongest." The captain said as he walked to the center of the upper platform and stared intently at the sky above, fist still tightly clinched. Suddenly he got a vision of Mario in his head. The vision spoke.

"You weak cheap piece of shit, I'm never going to give you the satisfaction."

"But don't you want a chance at redemption?" the captain replied to his vision.

"I don't require such a thing. At my greatest, I am stronger than you. We both know that. You were wise to take advantage of me after my fights. But I have no desire to leave just to see you."

"How is it that a great fighter like you doesn't wish to test his limits against me? I am the captain for a reason."

"I never lived to be a great fighter, I simply am. I would not abandon my place here for you." Suddenly, the captain awoke from his vision, sprawled out on the ground.

"Impressive," Prower said "no ones ever actually made contact before." Falcon stood.

"We're going to get the princess."

"What?"

"He practically told me. He won't come here for me. But if we gave him reason to come down, I'd have him."

"What about your whole 'take-over-our-world' thing?"

"It can wait. For now, I must prove myself, to myself."

**Later, Fox McCloud and Miles Prower reminisce on old times while Fox tends to Tails' injury in The Great Fox space vessel.**

"What are we doing here, Prower?"

"A greater power we don't know wants us to be here."

"You've always been content with that answer?"

"Not at all. But we had to learn to accept it."

"If there was a way to go back to our old lives, before the whole hero charade, would you?"

"Definitely."

"Doesn't your arm hurt?"

"You know I don't hurt. I feel pain, but I don't hurt."

"And the captain thinks _I'm_ crazy. Truth is he's the crazy one. But I don't think anyone is as crazy as you Prower."

"I'm not crazy. I'm completely and calmly aware of what goes on around me at all times. I just happen to enjoy different things than most. The same could be said about you and your criminal disposition."

"Touché."

"They all followed me, despite being difficult; they still followed me and my plan. It makes their imminent death all the more enjoyable."

"I almost envy you."

"Fox, I know you. You don't just follow people. So what's up with you being Falcon's right hand?"

"For the same reason you haven't turned on him yet. It's like a pickle-jar. He's just loosening it for me. Once he's set the throne straight, I'm going to kill him and sit on it."

"And he's not aware of this?"

"I'm sure he is. It's just like in the old days where we couldn't trust anyone. Not even each other. He knows I'll turn on him. And he probably plans to be ready when the time comes. That's why I have to get stronger faster. Just like you, I know I can't take him now, but I will soon."

"I think we might be outclassed in this case, Fox."

"You saying we should officially restart the duo?"

"Nothing's ever official. You of all people know that. I believe we are all treacherous and deceptive in nature. Betrayal is inevitable. But the power vacuum will be only between you and me once Falcon is gone. But we do have an even greater obstacle than the captain."

"What is it?"

"Mario. I fear the warrior of the Mushroom Kingdom may soon return."


	5. Chapter 5: Xoloria

**Author's Note:**

**Super Smash Flash 2 is based on the popular fighting franchise by Nintendo and is currently going through its beta stages. This story, which is based on version 0.8, takes the characters, unlockable and otherwise, and the stages as they are to form the map of the imaginary world of Smash Flash. Each update twists the story drastically. Despite the title, this is the very first story in the series.**

**Fairly unaware of recent events, Sonic goes to the Sky Sanctuary Zone to reflect.**

"Maybe Falcon was right about me after all. I'm a joke." said Sonic in despair.

"Life is just a matter of waiting for the punch line." said a voice from behind.

"What?" Sonic said as he turned around, meeting a heavy fist from Miles Prower, square in the face. He fell to the ground. "Tails?"

"Oh no no. Didn't you hear? Tails is dead. He became terminal the day you left him to die. Just as well. You're responsible for the rebirth of Miles Prower. And you know, he never liked you."

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm going to kill you Sonic. And though you're a fast warrior, I'm going to kill you very slowly, painfully; you'll welcome the sweet embrace of death."

"What the hell has gotten into you? Why did you betray Goku and Naruto?"

"I am Miles Prower. I betray indiscriminately, as you shall soon find out." Sonic began to think back minutes ago to what Goku said to him just before he left Hyrule.

"_I guess I can't stop you from going, but remember Sonic, if you run into trouble, you're fast enough to make it back here. Don't try to take anyone on your own. We've enough blood on the sand as it is." _Sonic sighed.

"I'm sorry Goku" he said to himself "but this is my own problem, I've got to solve it on my own. Come on Tails!"

"I'm going to enjoy this. You will not." Miles replied.

**Back at Hyrule, Peach questions Lloyd as to exactly how much he knows.**

"How did you find out?" asked Peach.

"The walls would be thick if we had any here. I know to you, the Tower of Salvation may seem like a place of romantic getaway. But it's actually where I have to live in this world. I saw you with him a long time ago. I but awaited the right time to say anything. I simply came, saw you with him, and left to look at something less disgusting. I just have to say, for everything Mario ever did for you, you're a whore." The princess attempted to slap Lloyd. Predictably dodged. "Pathetic." Lloyd said with a smirk.

"Who did you tell?" the princess asked with concern.

"Don't worry your highness. It's our little secret, and I guess Wario's too. I just hope nothing happens to change that. You understand?"

**Whenever Falcon's men weren't killing heroes, they were killing time in the Chaos Shrine.**

"You know, Tails probably knows where the rest of them are. But he never told us." said Sora. "How do we know we can trust him?"

"You have doubts about Prower?" asked Fox.

"I just don't see any reason for his sudden change of heart."

"There was no change of heart. His heart had just stopped beating for a while. But it's back on now. And it's beating harder than ever."

"Sounds like you two had a history." said Wario.

"An unbelievable one. But too long a story for a sitting." said Fox

"The captain has been gone for a long time now. We're getting restless. Indulge us." said Black Mage.

"Very well." said Fox. "Xoloria. That's where Prower and I are originally from. Like any city, it had its government. But Xoloria belonged to us. We controlled industry, and whether or not said industries failed. We controlled crime rates and part of law enforcement. We pulled the strings on all these things for our own personal monetary gains. From the petty things to the not-so-petty. What made us good at what we did was that even those that were the closest to us didn't know that we were the ones behind it all."

"You were crime bosses." Sora judged.

"No." Fox replied. "We were what every crime boss wishes he could be. No one knew all the terrible things we did, except us. We knew each other's secrets and no one else. We would have political and financial puppets set just to take the fall for things we did."

"How did you guys manage never to blow your cover, to anyone?" Wario asked.

"Simple. People always figured that there was only one guy in charge. On top of that, no one would think that the _one_ man would make his face so public. That's what made our cover so great. We ran a street fighting ring. Everyone knew about it. They even knew our names. Every week, in a different location within the city, we held street fights, open betting. There was an entry fee for all combatants. The prize would go to whoever won out in the end. But no one ever won out. Because doing so would always include fighting either myself, or Prower. No one ever beat either of us and the street fighting rings served as yet another money pump. A lot of people went down if we ever felt that they got too close. Then one day, I don't know, I guess maybe I got too close to him. We had recently gotten involved with this guy named Krash Mega. He was a genius. A mad scientist, if you will. The three of us made a fortune off of his inventions. He invented, we marketed. But then one day Mega invented something I didn't quite agree with. It was a portal spawning device, capable of transporting living things to other worlds, universes even. This wasn't quite something we could market, and if we sold it, I knew it could have dire consequences. We argued at first, but eventually, Prower convinced me of the idea. But Prower was in cahoots with Mega. Though at the time, I had no idea what either had to gain from their deal. It turns out that Mega's invention was not a one-way trip to other worlds. Rather, it led you to a nexus of worlds. Since most of Mega's inventions were illegal, Prower and I had always taken it upon ourselves to test them. We both went into the portal and were taken to a gravity sensitive world wherein we saw countless worlds through different portals. After a while of looking, Prower stopped moving. I asked him what was wrong, eager to hear anything bad about the invention. He simply replied 'nothing' and grabbed me and threw me into a random portal. The portal closed before I could get back through. I've always assumed that he escaped into Sonic's world and began to aid him. I was stuck in the world in which I had been thrown, a world called Corneria."

"So what are you doing here?" Wario asked.

"I used my prior knowledge of survival to rise as close to the top as I could. I even led a small group of pilots through space, handling battles that their world's army couldn't. But this did not match the life I had before. So one day I left to some random planet to clear my head. That's where I met the captain. Our ships crashed into each other and we got into a big brawl. I lost, but he seemed thrilled to meet me. I told him about my history and how I had missed my old life. From that day on, he took me under his wing. Not only had he trained me in the fighting arts, but in many forms of extortion. Since he was a pilot, the fate of many gamblers rested in his hands. We could easily make money by betting on or against him, as he was the finest pilot and could win or lose any race at will. Those who couldn't pay up soon enough on their petty debts, answered to me. Those who couldn't pay up soon enough on greater debts incited the captain's rage and were never heard from again. One day when we had reached or apex of wealth, he took me back to a nearby racetrack and opened one of the garages. In it, was a prototype racer that had not been approved for use. When I asked him why, he simply told me to get in. Looking for a true thrill in any way I could, I did what he said. 'What's the fastest you've ever flown?' he asked me. I didn't quite know how to answer that. He told me to sit back and watch and that after the ride, both of us would learn a new kind of thrill. He started the engine and took off at full speed. I'm not sure if he broke any universal barriers, but the speed was great enough to take us into this world. But a strange large figure met us as we got here. It sensed the injustice and ill will within us, especially the captain. In an attempt to separate us, it began locking the captain into a chamber. The captain must have known this would happen and told me to host The Great Fox Tournament before he left, as it would be the catalyst for his release. He told me how to have him unlocked. How there needed to be enough raw conflict generated. That's why I hosted The Great Fox Tournament. And soon after, I was able to resurrect Miles Prower."

"I watched him kill Naruto, brutally." Sora said.

"That was always entertaining to me." Fox replied.

"If he betrayed you, then why would you ever want to rejoin forces with him?" Wario asked.

"Because he's my best friend. Back in Xoloria, even when we would betray someone, we never left them alive. Prower took exception to me. That's how I know we're still friends."

"That's one fucked up relationship you guys got going there." Wario judged ironically.

**Sonic had always been just a stride faster than Tails. But against Miles Prower, that didn't seem to matter. Sonic was hit by Prower's tail-whip attack and stumbled back.**

"Why won't you tell me why you left me that day Sonic? Is it because you know that once I know, I'll no longer hold back and finally kill you?"

"The fact that you even care let's me know that you haven't whole-heartedly committed yourself to Falcon's side." Tails shot off an electron blast at Sonic. "Did I hit a nerve?" Sonic said as he leaped over the blast. He was met with a Whirlwind spin. He came crashing back to the ground.

"I'm going to break both of your legs. We'll see how fast you can run then." Hearing this Sonic quickly got to his feet and backed up quickly. He curled up into his signature ball form. "Are we really doing this?" Prower asked. "Because I really hope we are." Prower curled into a ball as well. Both combatants began picking up friction. Both reaching their respective peak potential energies, the blue and orange balls rolled toward each other at amazing speed and collided.

**Goku's healing process in Hyrule was coming along.**

"If you can't beat him, I don't know that there's much hope for the rest of us. Maybe we all should have come with you." Megaman said.

"Tails wanted you all to stay here to avoid blood spill." Goku replied.

"And we can see how that worked out."

"Maybe. Is Sonic back yet?"

"No. What's it matter, he couldn't help us now anyways. He's in hyper sulk mode. He might just work up the balls to kill himself, just to fight Mario in the afterlife."

"I think Sonic's the only one that can match speeds with Falcon."

"I think Mario proved time and time again that even when it comes to fighting Sonic, speed isn't everything."

"You're awfully cocky for one who hasn't seen any action since Mario beat him in The Great Fox Tournament."

"It's Mario, of course I lost. At least I won the first round."

"So did I. I guess that puts us on equal footing." Goku said as he stood to his feet. "Come with me Megaman."

"Where are we going?"

"I left Naruto; I have to go save him."

"If you left him, he's surely dead by now. Why try?"

"During our fight in The Great Fox Tournament, Naruto and I recognized each other as kin fighting spirits and became close friends. If there is even a chance that he is still alive, I've got to save him. Aren't you tired of sitting here, waiting to die?" Megaman looked at the ground and sighed.

"I guess you've got a point. What about the others?"

"This is a rescue mission. If they come with us, we lose the element of stealth. Let's go."

**Essentially, Lloyd was blackmailing the princess. While the other fighters were unaware, they slipped off to Shadow Moses Island. No one was aware of why the stage had been put there. It certainly did not serve as home to any of them, and thus was usually deserted. Lloyd sat on the ground upright as the princess stood before him.**

"Lift the dress, slowly." Lloyd said.

"Isn't there anything else I can do?" the princess pleaded.

"You're lucky this is all I'm having you do. Now then, this is the last time I'm going to tell you. _Lift_ the _dress_." Lloyd said in a stern voice. Tears streamed down Peach's face as she grabbed the dress and obeyed.


	6. Chapter 6: Krash Mega

**Author's Note:**

**Super Smash Flash 2 is based on the popular fighting franchise by Nintendo and is currently going through its beta stages. This story, which is based on version 0.8, takes the characters, unlockable and otherwise, and the stages as they are to form the map of the imaginary world of Smash Flash. Each update twists the story drastically. Despite the title, this is the very first story in the series.**

**In reality, real time, the clash between Sonic the Hedgehog and Miles Prower had lasted mere seconds. But to the combatants, it felt like an eternity. But after an epic clash, only Miles was left standing.**

"Back in Xoloria, many things happened to and around me. I never knew why such things happened. But I learned to live with such ignorance. I will learn to live with not knowing why you left me to die." Prower said raising his electron cannon to finish off his opponent. Just then Miles heard a small hiss, followed by a loud roar. "Yes, finally!" Miles said as he turned around quickly and allowed an amazingly large voltage of electricity to enter his cannon. As soon as the bolt was absorbed through the barrel of the weapon, Miles quickly rushed toward the source and overpowered it, lifting it from the ground and holding it in front of him for Sonic to see as he held the cannon in its mouth. "See what you're reduced to Sonic? This rodent beat you in The Great Fox Tournament and now it's gone and risked and ultimately lost its life because of you! Electric attacks work on electric pokémon only when used in the proper place that contains an electrical conductor, the mouth. Did you know that, Sonic? I think Pikachu does." Pikachu struggled in the fox's grip, but to no avail.

"Pika pi!" Pikachu cried in fear.

"Sonic" Miles said "witness the death that should have been yours!" Miles pulled the trigger and got clear of the pokémon. An electric aura surrounded Pikachu's head, much of which was not his own. His head expanded as the aura grew in kind until it finally exploded. Pikachu, the iconic pokémon, was dead. "You know, that rat was crouching in that same spot for most of our battle, gathering energy and waiting for me to be still long enough for him to land a shot. Unfortunately for him I was well aware of his presence. I'm surprised you weren't, Sonic. Or maybe you were and were attempting to allow him his opportunity. In either case, you are responsible for the death of two fighters now. I'd love to finish you but I've spent too much time here. Don't think this is over hedgehog." And with that, Miles Prower fled the scene. Sonic was left to cry and gaze at the corpse of Pikachu, as the blood trailed its way to where he was standing. A trail of tears and death.

**Black Mage was a bit short on privacy since the Chaos Shrine had become the base of operations for Captain Falcon. He found himself in the Planet Namek stage, thinking about Fox McCloud's story.**

"It has to be him. It had to be. It's way too freaky to be a coincidence. That means my birthing was a success. My loss was not in vain. I have brought about chaos. I . . . I am a success! Black Mage drew the name, Krash Mega, in the dirt. He rearranged the letters and his theory was confirmed. The new arrangement of letters read, "Game Shark". "My son." Black Mage said, holding back tears.

**Hours upon hours of work had not gone to waste. Falcon finally returned to the shrine to parade his miracle.**

"Gentleman, lower your guards, the gorilla behind me is a changed one. Once again, I have done the impossible. I am now the handler of an 800-pound monster!" Donkey Kong suddenly stood straight and began charging toward the western nexus behind him.

"What's it doing?" asked Wario.

"Nothing it shouldn't be." The captain answered. The gorilla returned with Black Mage in his hands. "Now Black Mage, the only reason you are not dead is because I've not instructed Donkey Kong to make it so. Understand?" Falcon said as he signaled Donkey Kong to put the wizard down. "Now DK, I've a most special task for you."

**At Hyrule, the princess had never been so offended in her life.**

"And you think you could ever do any better than this? There's a reason I nabbed two, you know!" the princess said in fury.

"I'm just saying" Lloyd replied "you'd think that the only girl here would look better than that. Now I _really_ don't know what Mario saw in you."

"I'll kill you!" the princess said, running up to Lloyd.

"Oh, not this crap again." Lloyd said.

"Ooooooooooo, ooo, ooo, ooo." Donkey Kong shouted as he swooped in and captured the princess.

"Shit!" Lloyd exclaimed. The gorilla began escaping toward the eastern nexus until he was stopped by an obstacle. Kirby. As DK cocked back for a punch, he was swallowed whole by Yoshi and placed out in an egg. Kirby leaped in the air with his hammer ready to crack it. "No" Lloyd said "Peach is in there!" Remembering this Kirby retracted his weapon and simply landed in front of the egg. Breaking out of captivity, DK shattered the egg and Kriby's face if it had had any bones in it. Kirby was momentarily dazed. Yoshi attempted to grab the foe with his tongue, but DK grabbed the tongue and dropped his weight, attempting to rip Yoshi's tongue out. It seemed that he would prevail, until Lloyd swooped in and sliced the animal's hand off. Screaming in pain, DK ran at abnormally fast speed to the eastern nexus. The princess had been stolen. "Where's Goku?" Lloyd asked. Yoshi shrugged. "We all could have taken him down if he were here. And where's Megaman?" Again, Yoshi shrugged. "Damn it, Yoshi. What are we gonna do?"

**Twilight Town was in the vicinity of Chaos Shrine and thus, was among the first places Goku and Megaman searched. There they found him, Naruto, ninja of Konoha. His face, which had been blown up from the inside out, was so mutilated that after a first glance, both Megaman and Goku did their best to avoid looking at him.**

"Who do you think?" Megaman asked. There was not a doubt in Goku's mind.

"Tails! He'll die! I'll strangle him myself!"

"I think Naruto deserves a proper burial first."

"Right." Just then, a crazed Donkey Kong came rushing through.

"Ooo, ooo, ooo!" He trampled Megaman and used the shoulder opposite the princess to truck Goku out of the way. Goku got to his feet quickly and charged after the gorilla. As he jumped to follow the creature into the eastern nexus, DK unleashed the Spinning Kong attack, hooking Goku in jaw inadvertently. It still hurt him all the same. Goku landed next to Megaman. Once again, the Kong had escaped.

**It had taken much longer than the captain wanted, and he was sure that the Kong had originally left with more than one hand. But Falcon didn't have time to care about that now. He was a step closer to seeing Mario again.**

"Most impressive." Falcon said in approval. "And this means you found where they were hiding. We're going to fix that would-be hand right up. And then you're going to lead us back to them. I'm afraid we'll have to resort to guerilla warfare this time around. And I know that this will be successful."

"What makes you so sure of that?" Wario questioned foolishly.

"Because Fox and I are coming with you, isn't that right Fox?"

"Oh this is gonna be fun." Fox replied.

**Back at the Sky Temple, Sonic was wrought with guilt. He couldn't quite figure out why he couldn't save Pikachu. He dispensed with the rat's corpse, down from the sky.**

"It's obvious I can't save anyone. Goku can't save anyone. We need help." Sonic jumped up to the upper platform. He looked to the heavens and called. "I hate to say this, but I need you back. It's obvious we're not strong enough. You're so great? Well then, save us! Save us again!" Sonic sat around and waited. Nothing happened. No change of the sky. No visions. Nothing. "Well be that way then." Sonic fled to Hyrule.

**The grounds of Planet Namek seemed suitable for the burial of Naruto.**

"Tails was right" Goku said "a trail of tears and death."

"What?" Megaman asked.

"Nothing. I think you were right Megaman. We need to get everyone. We're going to get Falcon, no matter what. Listen, when we see him, ignore everything. He's killed Mario and Naruto, and there's no telling what happened to Sonic. Let's go to Hyrule."

**There are three things that make a man go mad, become irrational. Among those things are money, pride, and women. Wario was assigned to watch the princess while she was held in captivity. Fox was in charge of aiding Donkey Kong's wound. Chaos Shrine was as busy as ever.**

"Doesn't that wizard know any damn healing spells?" Fox asked Prower. Hearing this, Black Mage replied.

"They call me Black Mage for a reason boy, I don't heal. And you'd do best to watch your mouth towards me."

"What's with you? For someone your height, you sure are on a high horse. Perhaps I should remind you where you stand." Fox left DK and approached Black Mage, who was still sitting in a meditative position, facing away from Fox.

"Fox, restrain yourself." Falcon commanded. Fox heeled and went back to aiding DK.

"Alright look you ape" Fox said "there's no bringing your hand back, but at least we stopped the bleeding and the pain. You're big enough to still be useful.

"Indeed he is" said Falcon "and he shall prove so. There's been a change of plans. I will not accompany you all to their hiding place. The ape and I will take the princess elsewhere while you all handle the bugs. Fox will have complete control in my absence. I trust he will not fail me."

"No sir. I will not."

"Very well then. On you go. Wario, get the princess and give her to the ape." Wario cradled the princess. They whispered on their way to DK.

"Save me Wario." Peach said.

"You'll be fine, baby. The captain needs you alive."

"And what do you think he's going to do once he doesn't? Hm?" Wario pondered this.

"I'm going to save you, I promise." Wario handed her to DK, who then threw her over his shoulder.

"Let's go DK." Falcon commanded. And with that, they all went their separate ways.

**Falcon's men, whom at this point consisted of Sora, Wario, Black Mage, Miles Prower and Fox McCloud, followed the trail of blood left by Donkey Kong's once dripping wound. They speculated on their way.**

"Let's see" Miles said "Link, Naruto, Pikachu, Ichigo, and who among us could forget Mario? That makes five."

"Who killed Pikachu?" Fox asked. A wide grin swept Prower's face. "I only regret that I did not get to see it"

"No you don't. The mess would make Wario sick and that's saying something."

"Fuck off, Tails." Wario replied. In his head, Miles paused. Firstly because he had heard the phrase earlier from the princess. Secondly because he had been addressed by his name which no longer existed. Miles grabbed what little neck Wario had from behind and began choking him.

"That's not my name you fat piece of-" Fox grabbed Miles and pulled him off of Wario. Wario fell forward.

"Calm down Prower. You're better than that!"

"Hey, this is a good time to ask, what about Sonic?" Sora asked.

"What about him?" replied Miles.

"You went off to kill him. Were you successful?"

"Hm. He will die when I want him to."

"All of you shut the hell up or wrisk giving up the element of surprise. I'm ready for blood." Black Mage said.

"Won't you come shut me up?" Fox replied, speed walking toward the wizard. He was stopped by Miles. Miles reasoned to him.

"The captain put you in charge. Let's not endanger ourselves. Let's just get to the bloodletting." Fox came to his senses. They had reached the nexus east of Hyrule. This is where the puddles of gorilla blood were greatest.

"This is where they are." Fox said.

"I herby lay claim to Sonic's life." Miles said "Do you all hear me? He is _mine_ to kill."

"You are understood. Let's Go."


	7. Chapter 7: Battle of Hyrule Temple

**Author's Note:**

**Super Smash Flash 2 is based on the popular fighting franchise by Nintendo and is currently going through its beta stages. This story, which is based on version 0.8, takes the characters, unlockable and otherwise, and the stages as they are to form the map of the imaginary world of Smash Flash. Each update twists the story drastically. Despite the title, this is the very first story in the series.**

**In Rainbow Route, he presented his case to me.**

"Not more than a week ago, I was murdered by Douglas Jay Falcon. Though I had been severely weakened by my fights with Tails and Fox McCloud in the tournament, I suppose that is no excuse for leaving them all to die. I think the difference was my will. My will to live. It seemed as though I would be stuck saving them all from death for the rest of my life. So I cut the rest of my life short. I left them. I left them all. My friends, my enemies, all of them. At first, I thought that maybe I was exaggerating the possible consequences and underestimating my allies. I was not. My name and memory of me constantly finds itself as a main focal point of their struggle. It is even more nerve-wrecking than when I was alive. I do believe it takes a toll on you as well. You however, are not currently justified to interfere. I however, am. I reason to you that the best solution for all parties is to allow my descent."

"**Your descending is granted. Do not make me regret my decision. Realize, you are allowed to do this but once."**

"I realize."

"**When the time comes, you may go."**

**The forces of light had no idea of the immediate danger they faced. At Hyrule, they readied themselves for battle.**

"When we find them, everyone attack Falcon. They won't all stay friends once he's out of the way." Goku said.

"And what if we die?" Ness asked.

"Then we die."

"So be it!" said a voice from across the stage. Fox McCloud landed on his feet in front of the group of fighters, which now only included Goku, Sonic, Megaman, Lloyd, Kirby, Yoshi, and Ness. Without a second thought Goku charged at the fox and just barely missed a punch. The two began to clash. The other fighters rushed in to aid Goku, who seemed to have trouble landing a punch. They were interrupted by Fox's mini-militia. Ness was frozen in a block of ice. Megaman was hit with a flaming boulder. Sonic found himself within the blast radius of an electron blast. And Lloyd nearly fell victim to a falling Wario again. Hyrule had become the scene for the biggest brawl their world had seen. Frozen momentarily from Sora's attack Ness was knocked down to the lower level of the stage. He came back to his senses as Sora began to pursue.

"I can't believe I get stuck with you as an opponent." Sora said with disgust as he threw his keyblade at his foe. Ness leaped above it and shouted:

"P.K. Fire!" A fire blast shot downward directly towards Sora. It didn't hurt him that bad, but the attack had some kick, knocking him on his back. The keyblade boomeranged back to his hand. He re-clinched the weapon tightly.

"I was once godlike!" Sora said in rage as he got up and pointed his weapon skyward. Though crouching in defense, Ness was then struck by lightning. "I was unstoppable. Everyone feared me. Everyone!" Sora looked at the ground. "I'll get that power back, somehow." His improperly timed monologue was interrupted by his opponents own thunderbolt. He did his best to block it with his weapon. The shock still hit him, and seemed to be intensified by his attempted block. His weapon was a conductor of electricity in more ways than one. The stunned Sora rose to his feet. Ness stepped on the handle of his keyblade, jamming it into the dirt. Sora still would not let go of his weapon. Ness pulled out his concealed baseball bat and began smashing his opponents head in repeatedly. But Sora still would not let go of the weapon, though he could feel himself getting closer to death. "Why can't I let go?" he thought to himself. "No. Not like this. I was a god. I was living fire! He is . . . ash!" Sora came halfway back to his senses before Ness could land a fatal blow with his bat. "Fire!" He shouted, as a ring of fire surrounded him. Standing on his opponent's weapon, Ness was sent skyward. Hurt and surprised by the attack, he did not become aware of what was going on below him. As he turned his body toward the ground to land, Sora struggled his way beneath his opponent. Before Ness could land, his torso was penetrated and nearly pierced by Sora's keyblade, which now faced upward once more. Sora was struggling to stay conscious. He thought he had won, when the hanging Ness looked up at him and smiled.

"Now I'm going to make you choose. Life or this blade?" Ness said teasingly in his dying breaths. "P. . . K. . . THUNDER!" Ness grabbed the duller part of the blade and lit up with electric aura. The shock went through the blade to Sora once more.

"Ahhhhhh!" Sora screamed in pain as the volts passed through him. But he would not drop the blade. Sensing his time was near; Ness drew more power into his final attack. The voltage became stronger and Sora's brain injury was not responding well to it. Sensing that something was awry, Fox landed a stunning back flip kick to his opponent, Goku, and turned his attention to Sora. As he looked down to the lower level he became extremely worried. If any if his men died, the captain would hold him responsible.

"Let go of the blade you fool!" Fox shouted.

"No!" Sora rejected. "It's all my power, I'm nothing without it!" Sora dropped to one knee, still clutching the blade.

"You'll die!"

"Without this blade" Sora said, tone diminishing "I already am." Fox heard a beam charge behind him, then felt a strong wind coming fast. He put up his reflector.

**Donkey Kong held the princess in firm grip and Douglas Jay Falcon stood with him on the upper platform in the Sky Sanctuary Zone, as if to present her to the heavens. He attempted to bait the legendary warrior down from the heavens once more.**

"Now, Mario, you will come and face me or she will do so for you." Falcon looked to the sky for a response, but nothing happened. "That is the only warning you shall receive! Donkey Kong, squeeze the life out of her!" Donkey Kong obeyed, constricting the princess with his muscle-bound arms. The princess' larynx itself was being disabled by the act. She could not even cry out in agony. "Tighter, but do not kill her. Crush bones and organs if you will, but see to it that she lives through every moment. Do you understand? I know he cannot stand idly by while she experiences such excruciating pain. Continue as long as you need. He will come." And so the captain watched and waited as his pet slowly but painfully squeezed the life from the princess.

**Back at the Battle of Hyrule Temple, the corpses of Sora and Ness lie just a foot from each other, connected by the keyblade. Lloyd lies on the ground, nothing more than a living bruise after being defeated by Wario again. Yoshi's face was no longer recognizable. All anyone would see when they looked at the dead dinosaur's face was Black Mage's scythe. His tongue, which had been frozen, was now a shattered mess of ice shards next to the carcass. Sonic and Miles had disappeared from battle. Megaman was in hot pursuit of Black Mage, who had suddenly gone A-Wall on the mission. Just as Mario had been left alone in a weakened state with Captain Falcon just before his death, Goku found himself in a similar situation with Fox.**

"How did you plan on beating the captain" Fox asked "when you couldn't even take me?" Goku smiled while panting.

"I know you're nearly as tired as I am. Don't count me out just yet." The saiyan raised his fists. "Let's finish this!" Goku said as he rushed toward his opponent. Fox surrounded himself with a flaming aura and launched himself toward the attacker. Just before he hit, his opponent disappeared, reappearing behind him and squeezing him around the lower torso. Leaping in the air, opponent-in-arms, Goku flipped himself halfway through the air and came crashing back down. A super charged German suplex. He followed up by jumping onto Fox's stomach, lifting his own knee to hip level, and driving his foot back down into his opponent. He did this again and again, switching legs and picking up speed. Blood began shooting from Fox's mouth, staining Goku's karate gi.

**Sonic and Miles stood and watched the open space from the top of Fox's ship, The Great Fox. From the distance, the Z-shaped Galaxy could actually be relaxing. But in such times of conflict, nearly all things can.**

"I'm glad we decided to come back here." Sonic said.

"Indeed. It seems to be the dying grounds most suitable for you." Miles replied.

"At least the Z doesn't kill anyone. I don't think so anyway."

"Fox and I used the medical aids and equipment inside this ship to nurse each other back to health. I will use the outside of this ship to finish what I started."

"We'll see about that." Sonic said turning towards his ex-friend, now enemy "I'm really gonna miss you Tails."

"Hm." Miles said with a smirk. "My name." Sonic bent his knees slightly, preparing to run. "My name is NOT TAILS!" Miles charged at his opponent who responded in kind. Sonic dodged a flurry combination of punches and kicks. When the opening came, he ducked to dodge a punch and landed a vicious uppercut to Miles' stomach. "That all you got?" Miles said. Sonic picked him up and ran to the middle of the ship. He leaped high into the air and threw Miles down to the ground as hard as he could. Leading with his right foot, he drove back down into his opponent as hard as he could. Though he landed the attack successfully, and even drew blood, he still saw his opponent smile while on the ground. "Easy." Miles said as he grabbed Sonic's foot while it was still the only one being used to stand. "Redirection." Miles said as he twisted and snapped Sonic's ankle out of place.

"Ahhhh, uhhhh! What-what _are_ you?"

"Battle is all a matter of taking your pain and your opponent's pain and making sure they're the only one that get's hurt."

"You're right. Tails _is_ dead."

"You realize now. We all come to our senses in our final moments."

"It won't be long before you come to yours."

"Yes. That's the spirit. Now, hedgehog, _die_!"

**We waited. I was surprised by his patience. He was _too_ patient.**

"The conflict is intensifying. The climax is always a gutter of warfare."

"**You may go now, if you would like."**

"No. Now is not the right time. But the time will come for me to interfere, soon. Trust me. It always does."


	8. Chapter 8: Gutter of Warfare

**Author's Note:**

**Super Smash Flash 2 is based on the popular fighting franchise by Nintendo and is currently going through its beta stages. This story, which is based on version 0.8, takes the characters, unlockable and otherwise, and the stages as they are to form the map of the imaginary world of Smash Flash. Each update twists the story drastically. Despite the title, this is the very first story in the series.**

**It seemed The Battle of Hyrule would meet its end with Son Goku triumphing over Fox McCloud. Goku lifted the fox by his torn jacket.**

"Let me guess" Fox said with a bruised smirk "this is the part where you spare my life despite everything. After all, you are Son Goku, that's kinda your thing." A smile crept upon Goku's face.

"I think I've learned my lesson on that." Goku said as he threw Fox to the ground in front of him. He squatted lightly, hands by his side. "KAME-HA-ME-HA-ME." Fox saw that he was taking longer than usual. Surely the saiyan wished to kill him with the beam and leave nothing left. Nearly paralyzed from his defeat, he thought on his toes. He said softly as Goku charged his beam:

"ROB 64, execute order 64-RR." Fox said, addressing the robot which always piloted his ship, The Great Fox.

"Impossible. Your reflector is too damaged at the moment to be activated from The Great Fox. Additional Note: There are two foreign life forms atop the ship, one an orange fox and the other a blue hedgehog. Both life forms exhibit very violent behavior towards each other and damage may be done to the ship. Hence, what are your orders?" Fox grew a small smirk as he said loudly before the beam was fully charged:

"Enter Safe Mode X!"

"Safe Mode X, entered." Said ROB 64

"Who are you talking to?" Goku asked, beam nearly complete.

"That is none of your concern." Said Fox "All you need to know is that once I die, so too will Sonic."

"What?" Goku asked, his beam becoming slightly weaker.

"You heard me." Fox replied "Once you obliterate me, my ship will explode, and take Sonic with it. Now you have a choice Son Goku. Kill me, or save your friend. Hmhmhmhm, HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Goku's beam faded away completely.

"You're bluffing." Goku said.

"You know I'm not bluffing, or else you would have killed me. Your move, saiyan."

"Don't think this is over, Fox." Goku said as he left Fox at Hyrule.

**The Nexus East of Planet Namek leads to a dead end. This meant that Megaman had Black Mage cornered. At least that's the way Megaman saw it.**

"Nowhere for you to run, wizard! This is where you meet your end."

"No Mega, you'll find that it is you who should have run." Black Mage's eyes began to light up.

**Whatever friendship they'd had before, whatever feelings of regret either had about the situation at hand, it all ends here, in Sector Z. Sonic had managed to catch Miles slipping and landed a devastating blow to Miles' throat. There was much blood lost, but after that point in the battle, Sonic was mostly on the run, still hindered by his broken ankle. Or perhaps it was his foot. He couldn't tell. All he knew was pain. Finally Miles had cornered him at the back edge of the ship. He stood with his back to the vast open space; his injured foot painfully planted further back.**

"It's been fun toying with you Sonic" Miles said "I know there's no way you could actually outrun or outmaneuver me on that foot. But I'm afraid all good things must come to an end. But first, let's see how your foot gets you out of _this_!" Miles said as he fired off an electron blast. Every bone in his body that still functioned told him not to, but Sonic defied all of them and pushed off of his injured foot to quickly evade the blast. He made it just about a dozen feet before tripping on the same hurt foot. The pain was getting the best of him as he rolled over on his back, holding his foot in pain. The last thing he heard Miles say was: "Shit!" as the electron blast, still enhanced by Pikachu's thunderbolt, hit the engine of the ship. The explosion started at the back of the ship, where the two combatants were.

**Fox was crawling his way out of Hyrule, when suddenly, he heard someone limping from behind.**

"Stop running you son of a bitch, I'm gonna kill you." Lloyd said.

"Leave me alone." Fox replied.

"Leave you alone? Leave you alone?" Lloyd began to limp faster.

"Stay back!" Fox said, pulling out his blaster.

"Do you know what I've been through?" Lloyd asked "If something as simple as a gun could kill me I'd be dead by now." Just then, Fox got a transmission from ROB 64.

"Fox, engine is destroyed. Cause: an explosion triggered by foreign projectile. Systems critical."

"Activate automatic repair systems." Fox commanded.

"Repair centuries are dysfunctional. Total loss may be eminent without manual repairs. Systems failing." ROB 64, arguably Fox McCloud's greatest asset, was dying. He simply could not allow that to happen. He struggled to his feet.

"I'm going to die, but not today." Fox said.

**At the Sky Sanctuary Zone, the princess was close to death, as Donkey Kong was still squeezing her. The Captain grew impatient.**

"This will obviously not suffice!" Falcon said as he cocked his fist back. Seeing this and approaching from behind, Wario began to run as fast as he could which, given the sword wounds and bruises he suffered while fighting Lloyd, hurt him a lot. "Falcon!" the captain said as he prepared to land a deadly blow to the princess.

"Don't you touch her!" Wario shouted as he leaped at the captain from behind. His fist still clinched and cocked back, the captain turned around a full 180 degrees to finish his attack.

"PUNCH!" Falcon hit Wario with the same attack used to kill Mario. It was uncertain if Wario had survived or not as he flew back and skyward. As Wario reached his apex, a figure fell from the sky, meeting Wario with a hard downward fist to the skull, finishing what Lloyd and Captain Falcon had started. Wario landed hard on the nearby floating stones. These stones gave out underneath his weight and dropped from the sky, as did the corpse which had momentarily rested on it. Wario, longtime nemesis to Mario of the Mushroom Kingdom, was finally dead. The strange figure responsible landed just ten feet from the captain. "Finally." the captain said "I was beginning to lose hope. The opportunity I've been wishing for." The figure was facing away from the captain. He only turned his head around to say:

"You should always be careful what you wish for."

**All Megaman regretted was that no one was there to see him stand up to the once great Black Mage. The self-proclaimed "root-of-all-evil".**

"You were never the one to stand against the main threat. That stopped happening when you came to this world. We both know that." Black Mage said as he tossed a flaming rock at Megaman. Megaman dodged it as he replied:

"And we both know you stopped being the main threat a while ago. Mario took you down." Megaman shot off a megabuster blast. Black Mage used another rock to absorb the shock. He responded:

"And where is he now?" Megaman began charging toward his foe as he yelled.

"It doesn't matter. We don't need him to save us all the time." Seeing the charging robot, Black Mage casted a lighting spell that slowly moved toward Megaman. Megaman did his best to slow down right before touching the lighting bolt.

"We both know that's a lie. Those that stand a chance against us are still alive only because Douglas Falcon does not place their demise at high priority. It should be clear to all of you by now that if we want you dead, we will make it so. You yourself have survived our wrath thus far only by idling. Hiding amongst the grounds of Hyrule Temple while your friends die. Until now wherein you only got into this fight because you had no choice." Black Mage teleported behind Megaman while he was distracted by the lightning bolt. He grabbed Megaman from behind and began whispering in his ear. "We finally found you all. Who knows how this bloodbath will end? All that I'm sure of is that you, you will not leave this place alive!" Megaman spun the wizard off of him as he retorted:

"I'm a robot. I imagine I'll never know what heaven or hell is like. But you, you'll know, soon."

**An alarmed Goku made his way to Sector Z as fast as he could. But when he arrived, the damage had been done. The Great Fox was in pieces and aflame. All he noticed that hinted that there ever was life were blue and orange hairs floating about. Tears began to fall rapidly, but upon leaving his face, floated into the debris.**

"Fox." Goku said as he started shaking with anger. "I'll kill you. I'll-" Goku paused mid-sentence. The feeling he felt at that moment was the same one he felt when he found Naruto's corpse. Confused, Goku walked back through the Eastern Nexus, to the Green Hill Zone. He dropped to his knees and began crying. This time, the tears were not to mourn death; rather they were to express the severe confusion and helplessness in the situation. When he did not fight, Mario died and the entire conflict began. And when he did fight, it seemed as though things got worse. Everything except his instincts had told him to kill Fox when he had the chance. But then, his instincts _had_ been a little off since he had gotten to this world. Maybe he was no longer the ultimate weapon he had been back in his old world. Maybe he never should have made that wish in the first place. He sat in a meditative position and closed his eyes to rest.

**The self-revitalized Fox McCloud managed to elude and escape the injured and slow-moving Lloyd, though he had to take a detour. This meant going through the Sand Ocean stage. The journey reminded him of his battle in the final round of The Great Fox Tournament. It was the best battle he had ever fought, despite losing. He had never felt so in-his-prime. It made him think of when he would begin to plateau, or when he would begin to decline as a fighter. But when he reached Sector Z and saw the devastation done to The Great Fox, it made him think of his own mortality. ROB 64's communications with him had since failed and he had no idea whether or not the robot was still functional. His view, which was from the Western Nexus, made him forget about everything else that was going on. He tried once more to get through to ROB 64.**

"ROB, ROB, do you read me?" Nothing. "Well most of the front of the ship is still intact. I might be able to work with that. But I've got to get in and help ROB before he goes offline." Fox made his way toward the ship.

**He had finally left me. His descending upon the Sky Temple. I had no control at that point. With his heroic history, I had only hoped I was right to assume that he would rectify all things. Captain Falcon eagerly spoke to him.**

"Now is the time you face your greatest challenge of all. Greater than any possessed warrior, any wizard at all. Now Mario, face me at your finest."

"Don't think you're going to leave this place alive." Mario said "I'm going to make your suffering greater than that of all those who've died thus far. Their pain combined won't match yours!"

"You don't know how happy I am that you would make such a bold statement. I dare you to come and make those threats reality. Donkey Kong, take the Princess and leave us. I shall settle this alone. Are you ready, plumber?"

"I was going to ask you that same question." Mario said, signaling the captain towards him. The captain began to run towards Mario. A small smirk crept upon Mario's face in the milliseconds it took for the captain to get closer. "Hm, tears and death." He whispered to himself as the captain got closer. "My bittersweet return." The captain was just outside of striking distance.

"Falcon . . . !" the captain said as he was preparing to attack. Mario clinched his fists and moved in on his opponent as he whispered the last phrase to himself.

"A gutter of warfare."

_Hey everyone, Battalion Ice here. I know its weird me finally addressing the audience blatantly after all this time, but I couldn't think of any other way to get this information out to you. All I basically have to say is that: a) the next chapter will be the final for this particular story and b)there will however be more stories that will continue/spin off of the current storyline. Also, after reading chapter 9, feel free to ask me anything (preferably something story related), any question you might have, for example any holes you feel exist in the story. I'll do my best to answer any questions that won't be answered in later stories. You can ask these questions via reviews, PM's or forum if I choose to start one. Also stay tuned for a super important note directly after the final chapter._


	9. Chapter 9: Corruption

**Author's Note:**

**Super Smash Flash 2 is based on the popular fighting franchise by Nintendo and is currently going through its beta stages. This story, which is based on version 0.8, takes the characters, unlockable and otherwise, and the stages as they are to form the map of the imaginary world of Smash Flash. Each update twists the story drastically. Despite the title, this is the very first story in the series.**

**Kirby sat alone in the Dream Land stage. The time he spent their alone made him uncomfortable. He though for sure that someone would have found him by now. He had no idea what had become of everyone at the Battle of Hyrule. All he knew was that the catharsis had most likely taken place already, and somehow he sensed that something was awry. The feeling that his peers were unconcerned about him. He had prepared to leave on a scouting mission minutes before, but suddenly felt a severe disturbance. Severe enough to warn him to stay in his place. So he did. And he pondered.**

"I am a coward. Unappreciated, but cowardly nonetheless. Something terrible has happened. And I dare not investigate at the moment."

**The headaches Kirby experienced were undoubtedly caused by me. The Rainbow Route and the Dream Land share a thin connection, which Kirby is able to involuntarily interpret. A great amount of energy had been lost to the living world when Mario descended. Now in the Sky Zone, he would put that energy to use. Hopefully, not in vain.**

"I see you've been working on your skills, plumber!" Falcon said in excitement, after missing Mario with his Falcon Kick. Landing on the other side of his opponent, Mario launched a fireball toward Falcon. "But still oh so predictable." Falcon said as he leaped over the projectile. He was surprised to see that Mario had beaten him to the air. Mario landed a downward punch to the captain's face, the same attack that had killed Wario just moments ago. The captain ricocheted off of the upper platform and landed on the ground below. Mario dropped down to the captain's elevation, panting instead of following up on his downed opponent. He had to get used to having a living body again. The captain sat upright and spit out a mouthful of blood as he smiled and said: "Excellent."

**Megaman had finally realized that he never had Black Mage cornered to begin with. He had simply been led to a place with near-endless rocks and boulders that Black Mage could use as weapons and projectiles. Megaman had begun fighting mostly on his heels.**

"I thought you were the most versatile hero there was!" Black Mage said, tossing a barrage of flaming boulders at his opponent. "Second only to Mario. Is this really the extent of your abilities?" Black Mage began to notice that all of the rocks were going just to the left of his opponent, no matter where they had originally been launched. Upon looking harder, he saw a small purple vortex attracting all the rocks. When he looked back for Megaman, he was gone. Instinctively, he looked above him and saw Megaman coming down with his cannon aimed at Black Mage. He casted another lighting spell. The bolt hit Megaman while he was still high, doing exponential damage. Megaman fell from the sky like a rock. Slowly approaching the downed target, Black Mage said: "There's always been a question I've asked myself since I've met you. Do robots feel pain? If so, how much? What's the limit?" Megaman crawled, struggling to shake off the damage done to his circuits. "I guess we're both about to find out."

**Having failed to kill Fox, Lloyd instead ventured to Chaos Shrine, in hopes of finding a use for himself. On his way, he passed through the Green Hill Zone. There, he saw Goku, sitting on the ground with an expressionless face. They made eye contact as Lloyd passed by.**

"It's strange, I should have something to say to him, but I don't." Lloyd thought. He stopped walking and stared longer. Goku stood up and hovered in the air for 3 seconds before dropping back to the ground. Losing interest, Lloyd left.

**The battle between Captain Falcon and Mario raged on.**

What happened to all the suffering I was supposed to go through, Mario?" Falcon teased as he charged toward Mario. Mario leaped in the air and sex kicked the captain's jaw. Falcon flipped backward, but managed to land on his feet.

"It's coming, be patient." Mario replied, pursuing his opponent. When he leaped in the air, Falcon rolled behind him and grabbed the leg responsible for the previous attack and slammed the plumber face first to the ground.

"It's funny!" the captain said "I see so much potential in your supporting cast. And yet I see that you are the one who must face me yet again. After a painful trial and error, Goku surely would have at least put up a fight. But where is he? Where are they now? You have risen above the grave to save them and yet they would not return the favor even if they were alive."

"That's not true." Mario mumbled as he struggle to get up, foot still caught in the captain's grip. The captain responded with a hard stomp to Mario's back while still holding his opponents foot.

"It _is_ true!" the captain said angrily. "I know because the day I killed you, I saw a witness. We were not alone at the Battle of Konoha. Just before I landed my Falcon Punch, I saw a small pink, weak-looking creature standing atop one of the roofs. He was poorly disguised as a stone. I even witnessed him leave when your corpse landed near him. I could have killed him if I wanted to, but such a coward isn't worth my time. So you see? Someone had the opportunity to save your life and they fled. They left you to die!" Mario had heard enough. He kicked Falcon's ground leg off balance and used the stumbling to break free from the captain's grip. When he got to his feet, he replied:

"You're going to wonder why _your_ men didn't save _you_ when this is over."

**Fox McCloud clung to ROB 64 as if it were a living thing. Perhaps it was.**

"You're the greatest model anything could buy. I know you could survive this." Fox said, smacking the robot in panic. He had been able to get to the pilot's seat quickly due to the explosion damage. Essentially, only half of the ship was intact. Fox placed his gun to the robot's head. This caused a response. ROB 64 began sparking and twitching its head to the right as it stuttered.

"D-d-dddefense mode activated." ROB said.

"All it takes is a little motivation." Fox said in satisfaction. "Don't worry, I can save you."

"Question: what of your servitude to Captain Douglas Jay Falcon?"

"I have priorities ROB; he'll be fine without me.

**In the Planet Namek Stage, each combatant began pulling out his entire respective arsenal.**

"I'll take off your hat when I kill you. When everyone sees your corpse, they'll finally see what you've been hiding. They'll know why you always wore your hat." Megaman said, shooting a trigger bomb at Black Mage. Black Mage dodged it and launched an ice spell at his opponent.

"I'll take off your head when I kill you. When everyone see's the Chaos Shrine, they'll see your head, mounted on my wall!" Megaman leaped over the ice and landed with a smile. As Black Mage pondered the reason, the trigger bomb on the tree behind him exploded, sending him flying towards his opponent. Megaman spawned his giant drill in preparation. The ground below and around him collapsed before his opponent could reach him. He fell in the miniature sink-hole and was constricted by the surrounding rock. He was stuck. Black Mage recovered from the attack and approached the disabled Megaman. "Let's see how much fun we can have now." He said as lightning began to fill his hands.

**Back at the Sky Zone, it seemed that Douglas Jay Falcon was getting the best of Mario. When Mario attempted a sweep kick, the captain short hopped and scissor-kicked him in the face. When he thought he was catching the captain out of position from behind with a charged fire-punch, the captain came around with a fierce elbow. Finally, in desperation, Mario went for the Super Jump Punch. He missed and paid dearly with a Falcon Punch. Mario landed on the loose stones, upon which Wario's corpse once lay. The stones began to give out, just as they did with Wario. Mario managed to ignore the pain and loss of wind for a few seconds to get to safety before falling to certain death. Or whatever happens to those who die again. Even I am not fully aware. Falcon approached his downed opponent slowly, laughing and taunting.**

"It hurts even more the second time, doesn't it Mario? Hmhmhmhmhmmm." Mario lifted his head to speak.

"Where are your lackeys? Shouldn't they be here to make the job easier?"

"I'm surprised you can speak. If you must know, Fox is leading them on a kill-mission. Surely by now, the lots of your friends are dead. Either killed by my soldiers or killed serving me. They are even more ruthless than when I banded them together. Each of them becoming more distinctively evil. The grotesquely Wario. The criminally-bent Fox McCloud. The psychopathic Black Mage, arguably my favorite. The pleasure he takes in other's pain. The joy he get's from causing Chaos. I can be sure that at all times, he is pondering or causing my ill-will." Mario almost had the strength to get back up. He had to keep the captain talking.

"And you don't think they could ever turn on you?"

"What is this? You suddenly find interest in me? What happened to my destruction? I know you're trying to buy yourself time to recover, and that's ok. Any handicap you'd like. If anyone would dare betray me it would be my right-hand, Fox. But he's not strong enough. He's knows that. But he'll never be strong enough. And he doesn't know that. Falcon KICK!" The captain's foot soared through the air toward his downed opponent. Mario pushed himself off the ground high into the air to avoid it. He countered with a torpedo kick to the face of the pilot. Falcon stumbled back, but did not fall. "I see you're going to make this harder than it needs to be." He said.

**After too long a journey, Lloyd finally made it to Chaos Shrine. There, he saw that the princess seemed to be having a hard time with Donkey Kong.**

"Get away from me you dirty ape!" the princess said crawling away, still injured from nearly being squeezed to death.

"Ooooooo. Oh-oooo." The gorilla's testosterone was getting the best of him. Perhaps it was not a good idea for the captain to trust the well-being of Peach to an animal. He approached her with lust in his eyes.

"Hey, ape-shit!" Lloyd shouted as distraction, swords raised. "Remember me?" Donkey Kong looked at the spot where his hand used to be and his lust was instantly replaced by rage. He charged at Lloyd. "Double-demon fang!" Lloyd shouted. The projectiles hit, and managed to knock the beast on his back. He did not stay down for long. Lloyd was surprised to see his opponent recover quickly and begin charging at him even faster. When the Gorilla was almost within sword-length, it stopped and pounded the ground, sending Lloyd skyward. Apparently, it had learned its lesson about swords. "Rising Falcon!" Lloyd shouted as he drove back to the ground, sword-first. DK rolled clear of it and made Lloyd pay with a punch that could almost rival Captain Falcon's. Lloyd hit the ground and rolled next to the still-downed princess.

"What made you come?" Peach asked.

"You know, DK is actually an upgrade over Wario. I'm impressed." Lloyd replied as he struggled to his feet. He could see the one-handed opponent still gazing at him angrily. Clearly, one hand was all he needed. Thinking carefully, Lloyd grabbed Peach's head and began rustling through her blonde hair slowly, a smile on his face as he stared at DK. The gesture got the best of DK's instincts again and the gorilla charged full speed. Blinded by his animal instinct for male-dominance, he did not consider Lloyd's weapons. "Sonic" Lloyd said softly as DK started charging "THRUST!" Just as DK had gotten close enough, Lloyd thrust his greater blade through the Kong's stomach. A white aura surrounded DK's torso. "Again for good measure." Lloyd said as he jumped up and stabbed the smaller sword through DK's neck before landing. After Lloyd removed his sword from the gorilla's torso, a very hard thud was heard, as 800 pounds of deadweight smashed into the ground. "You're welcome." Lloyd said.

**Hubris began hitting Mario for the first time. For the first time, even he knew that he was hopelessly outmatched. While they were both airborne, Falcon successfully performed the Falcon Dive. The explosion propelled both combatants higher into the air. Getting above his opponent, Falcon (using both feet) stomped his opponent's chest in mid-air. Mario's body went limp and hit the ground. Falcon lifted him from the ground by his overalls and began punching him rapidly. Each punch seemed half as strong as the Falcon Punch to Mario. While preferable to the actual attack, it still hurt him all the same.**

"Tell me, Mario. You're famous for saving the princess repeatedly. Why didn't you save her from Donkey Kong when you first came here? Why didn't you save her from me? You attacked Wario instead. Was it worth it?" The captain was still holding Mario high in the air. Mario answered.

"Wario was my mortal enemy and the princess is a whore. As of late, both of those statements have become especially true."

"You mean to tell me that big tub of who-knows-what managed to snag your woman away from you after death? The unfaithfulness must have killed you."

"That's quite enough."

"And there's no telling who else she might stoop to. I see Goku, Sora, perhaps even the one called Lloyd as possible takers. Do you think they'd make a good pair? I certainly do." Mario snapped with rage. He grabbed the captain's middle and ring fingers and bit down hard. "AAAAAAAHHHHH!" The captain screamed in pain. "FALCON. . . PUNCH!" Mario managed to get free of the captain's grip before the attack could hit him. He landed 7 feet from his opponent, facing away. When he turned around, the captain stood looking at him, holding his arm. "Impressive, you've manage to actually make me break my own arm. Allow me to return the favor!"

**Black Mage's lightning blast had backfired on his second attempt and supercharged Megaman for a brief time. He was able to break free from the hole he was in and launch several saw blades at his opponent. Black Mage went into a defensive mode, raising boulders all around him to protect himself. Megaman tried drilling, sawing and smashing through the defense. Ultimately, he decided to use the rest of his extra power in one megabuster blast. He focused on the group of boulders surrounding Black Mage, charged up, and launched the greatest blast he had ever spawned. The boulders exploded, creating a near-blinding smog. Megaman was blind and didn't know whether or not he had killed his opponent.**

"You trying to play possum?" Megaman shouted. His scanners detected nothing, but he continued searching just to be sure. There was little chance his opponent was still alive, but he had to stay sharp.

**For a while, it seemed as though the captain only needed one hand to beat Mario. For a while, the captain not only matched him blow for blow at will, but got in more than his fair share of critical hits. A barrage of rotating scissor kicks in the air left Mario dazed by the time both had touched back down to the ground.**

"I'm extremely disappointed in you Mario. It seems my resurrection of you was a complete waste of my time. This isn't even fun anymore. It's about time I ended this." The captain then attempted a round house kick. Mario managed to capitalize and punched Falcon's broken arm before he could turn all the way around. The captain stopped mid turn and stumbled forward, away from Mario. He dropped to one knee. "Cheap. I like it." The captain said as he turned around and saw Mario in mid-air, diving for him. "What the-" the captain said as Mario latched onto the injured side of his body. Though his arm was broken, the captain managed to use the same hand to grab Mario so that he could not escape the grip. "This time I'll kill you! Falcon. . ." the captain shouted, cocking his able arm back. Seeing this, Mario grabbed the captain's shirt and clutched as hard as he could. "PUNCH!" The punch splattered blood from Mario's mouth and Falcon could feel bones breaking beneath his fist. But Mario did not fly backwards, as he still clutched the captain's tight clothing. "How can you still hold me, let alone live?"

"Didn't Tails tell you? I'm a dead man. I can't stay here forever. It's time for me to go back." A golden aura began to surround Mario.

"What? What is this?"

"The Rainbow Route stage is available only to the dead, the pure of heart, and the greatest of heroes. You are the opposite of all three and you shall come with me."

"What?" The captain was no longer holding onto Mario. Only Mario held him. He was unable to break away from the grip, as he could use only one arm.

"The purity of the afterlife that awaits us will tear you apart, in every sense of the phrase." Mario began to float skyward. Consequentially, so too did Captain Falcon.

"Release me."

"The pain you will feel will be unbearable. All that you may take solace in is that when it ends, if it ends, you will no longer exist, and therefore will have no memory of such torment."

"No. NOOO! You've cheated me. I'll not stand for this." The pair was getting closer to the heavens.

"You're right. I haven't defeated you. But I have killed you. This is where we part ways." The two fazed into Rainbow Route. "Goodbye Captain Falcon."

**Captain Falcon was responsible for the deaths of numerous great heroes. And yet his screams were so blood-curdling that even I felt a small amount of compassion toward him. I almost questioned why things were the way they were. I turned my attention elsewhere to help cope. At the Planet Namek stage, Megaman had just deemed the smog clear enough for him to leave. He began to walk for the Eastern Nexus. While walking, he charged his cannon without raising it as precaution. When it was fully charged, he sensed something behind him and turned around quickly.**

"I knew it!" he said.

"No, Mega." Black Mage said, his hand inside Megaman's cannon. "You know nothing, at least not now." Megaman was trying to kill Black Mage right then and there with his charged blast, but it wouldn't launch. He began to feel sick, strange because he was a robot. To him, sickness felt like death. He dropped to one knee, his cannon still infiltrated by Black Mage's hand.

"What. . . are you. . ." Megaman couldn't think straight enough to finish his sentence.

"What am I doing? Isn't it obvious? Never before have I met someone as open as you, literally. The question is always raised, which is more powerful? Magic or technology? Today, I'm going to prove the former." A visible wave of black energy began flowing from Megaman's cannon and into the rest of his body. "Your open energy source seems to work both ways. But I'm afraid this effect shall be permanent. You're going to be the perfect instrument of chaos and destruction. Causing suffering at my command." Black Mage removed his hand from Megaman's cannon. "I sense that the captain is in grave danger. It's much too late for me to save him. I'm going to go reclaim the Chaos Shrine. When you are fully upgraded, you will return to me. Together, we will remind them who we are." Black Mage left the robot sprawled on the ground. A single tear, something which Megaman wasn't sure he was capable of producing, streamed down his face as he was fully consumed by Black Mage's influence.

**Kirby's fierce headaches came to an end suddenly. He opened his eyes when the pain had subsided.**

"Whatever it was, it's over now. It's all over."

_Hey there, Battalion Ice here again. I hope you enjoyed the finale. I'm aware that some things may have been hard to interpret. So now's you chance to ask me anything, either via PM or as a review to the story. I'll answer anything that won't be answered in later follow-up works. Got a question? Shoot!_


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